Warring arthropod societies: Social spider colonies can delay annihilation by predatory ants via reduced apparency and increased group size

Keiser, Carl N.; Wright, Colin M.; Pruitt, Jonathan N.

doi:10.1016/j.beproc.2015.07.005

Cited by 21 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 61 publications

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“…This is because social spider groups emerge and disappear with high frequencies (reviewed in Aviles & Guevara, ). Social spider colonies are prone to ant attack (Henschel, ; Keiser, Wright, & Pruitt, ), parasitism (Straus & Avilés, ; Vollrath, ) and fungal outbreak (Henschel, ). To avoid these fates, social spiders collectively catch prey, repair webs, and raise offspring, and many spiders remain in the colony to breed (Aviles & Guevara, ; Bilde et al., ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…araneae, collective behaviour, insect abundance, life history, multilevel selection [Correction added on 27 December 2019 after first online publication:The article title has been amended] 2017). Social spider colonies are prone to ant attack (Henschel, 1998;Keiser, Wright, & Pruitt, 2015), parasitism (Straus & Avilés, 2018;Vollrath, 1987) and fungal outbreak (Henschel, 1998). To avoid these fates, social spiders collectively catch prey, repair webs, and raise offspring, and many spiders remain in the colony to breed (Aviles & Guevara, 2017;Bilde et al, 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Collective aggressiveness limits colony persistence in high‐ but not low‐elevation sites at Amazonian social spiders

Lichtenstein

Fisher

McEwen

et al. 2019

J of Evolutionary Biology

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Identifying the traits that foster group survival in contrasting environments is important for understanding local adaptation in social systems. Here, we evaluate the relationship between the aggressiveness of social spider colonies and their persistence along an elevation gradient using the Amazonian spider, Anelosimus eximius. We found that colonies of A. eximius exhibit repeatable differences in their collective aggressiveness (latency to attack prey stimuli) and that colony aggressiveness is linked with persistence in a site‐specific manner. Less aggressive colonies are better able to persist at high‐elevation sites, which lack colony‐sustaining large‐bodied prey, whereas colony aggression was not related to chance of persistence at low‐elevation sites. This suggests that low aggressiveness promotes colony survival in high‐elevation, prey‐poor habitats, perhaps via increased tolerance to resource limitation. These data reveal that the collective phenotypes that relate to colony persistence vary by site, and thus, the path of social evolution in these environments is likely to be affected.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Collective aggressiveness limits colony persistence in high‐ but not low‐elevation sites at Amazonian social spiders

Lichtenstein

Fisher

McEwen

et al. 2019

J of Evolutionary Biology

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“…So, while colony predation rates on S. dumicola by Anoplolepis ants are high, it appears that S. dumicola colonies might also pay an additional price for ants being present in the vicinity of their nests in the form of depressed foraging aggressiveness and, therefore, foraging efficacy (Pinter-Wollman et al 2017). This further suggests that these ant predators could suppress the positive effects of bold individuals on group success, even if S. dumicola colonies are lucky enough not to be subjected to a physical raid, which are typically lethal for the entire spider colony (Henschel 1998; Keiser et al 2015; Wright et al 2016a). …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In fact, colony behavioral composition is more important than colony size for predicting foraging aggressiveness and efficiency in this species (Keiser and Pruitt 2014). Additionally, S. dumicola colonies are frequently raided by pugnacious ants ( Anoplolepis custodiens ), a voracious social predator that is the main cause of death for established S. dumicola colonies in nature wherever these species’ ranges overlap (Henschel 1998; Keiser et al 2015; Wright et al 2016a). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exposure to predators reduces collective foraging aggressiveness and eliminates its relationship with colony personality composition

Wright

Lichtenstein

Montgomery

et al. 2017

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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Predation is a ubiquitous threat that often plays a central role in determining community dynamics. Predators can impact prey species by directly consuming them, or indirectly causing prey to modify their behavior. Direct consumption has classically been the focus of research on predator-prey interactions, but substantial evidence now demonstrates that the indirect effects of predators on prey populations are at least as strong as, if not stronger than, direct consumption. Social animals, particularly those that live in confined colonies, rely on coordinated actions that may be vulnerable to the presence of a predator, thus impacting the society’s productivity and survival. To examine the effect of predators on the behavior of social animal societies, we observed the collective foraging of social spider colonies (Stegodyphus dumicola) when they interact with dangerous predatory ants either directly, indirectly, or both. We found that when colonies were exposed directly and indirectly to ant cues, they attacked prey with approximately 40–50% fewer spiders, and 40–90% slower than colonies that were not exposed to any predator cues. Furthermore, exposure to predatory ants disassociated the well-documented positive relationship between colony behavioral composition (proportion of bold spiders) and foraging aggressiveness (number of attackers) in S. dumicola, which is vital for colony growth. Thus, the indirect effects of predator presence may limit colony success. These results suggest that enemy presence could compromise the organizational attributes of animal societies.

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“…We used the preexisting presence of S. dumicola colonies on nearby trees as an indicator of habitat quality and substrate suitability. Care was taken not to place colonies on Acacia trees actively being guarded or patrolled by ants (genus Anoplolepis and Crematogaster ), which can destroy S. dumicola colonies before they establish [51, 52]. Prior studies have shown that setting colonies out in the evening hours provides them with an opportunity to produce a functional nest and a sizable capture web before the following sunrise [46].…”

Section: Star★ Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Selection for Collective Aggressiveness Favors Social Susceptibility in Social Spiders

et al. 2018

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SUMMARY Particularly socially influential individuals are present in many groups [1–8], but it is unclear whether their emergence is determined by their social influence versus the social susceptibility of others [9]. The social spider Stegodyphus dumicola shows regional variation in apparent leader-follower dynamics. We use this variation to evaluate the relative contributions of leader social influence versus follower social susceptibility in driving this social order. Using chimeric colonies that combine potential leaders and followers, we discover that leader-follower dynamics emerge from the site-specific social susceptibility of followers. We further show that the presence of leaders increases colony survival in environments where leader-follower dynamics occur. Thus, leadership is driven by the “social susceptibility” of the population majority, rather than the social influence of key group members.

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Warring arthropod societies: Social spider colonies can delay annihilation by predatory ants via reduced apparency and increased group size

Cited by 21 publications

References 61 publications

Collective aggressiveness limits colony persistence in high‐ but not low‐elevation sites at Amazonian social spiders

Collective aggressiveness limits colony persistence in high‐ but not low‐elevation sites at Amazonian social spiders

Exposure to predators reduces collective foraging aggressiveness and eliminates its relationship with colony personality composition

Selection for Collective Aggressiveness Favors Social Susceptibility in Social Spiders

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